Based on responses from 26,906 customers from the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Netherlands and Sweden, the UK gained an overall rating of 78.1 out of 100, 2.4 points higher than its closest rival, Sweden (76.3).

The research, which also compares customer satisfaction in six other industries, revealed that across the nations insurance had the second highest rating as a sector, scoring 74.3 out of 100. Food retail was ranked first with 75.6 points.

Jo Causon, CEO of the Institute of Customer Service, explained the high level satisfaction in the UK was driven by competition.

She said: “It’s encouraging to see that the UK’s insurance sector is achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction compared to the rest of Europe. Its overall customer satisfaction ratings topped the Index too – this clearly demonstrating our competitiveness as a nation.”

However, while the findings reported high levels of satisfaction, the UK scored 88.8 for customer trust, which is below the average of 95.1. The professional body said organisations in this country would have to “work harder” to secure trust.

The study also highlighted differences in customer priorities within the nations. For example, those in the UK ranked ‘ease of doing business’ and the ‘helpfulness of staff (in person)’ as more important than the average rating across the nations.

In Germany, product reliability, on-time delivery and the condition of delivered goods were rated above average. Meanwhile, Italians considered the availability of website support of high importance.